Gov. Jindal Fuels White House Talk With Nonprofit Launch

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal rekindled speculation that he will be a Republican presidential nominee in 2016 with the announcement of a new nonprofit that he says will help the GOP shed its image as "the party of no."

The policy-focused nonprofit, America Next, launched Thursday, will produce proposals for improvements conservatives will make in healthcare, education, and energy policy, reports Politico.

The nonprofit will help Jindal position himself in a party role just as his leadership of the Republican Governors Association comes to an end, and will help keep his name public on the national level.

America Next, Jindal told Politico, will focus on solutions for the nation's problems. The governor said the GOP has spent too much of its focus criticizing President Barack Obama and not enough about how it would solve issues like Obamacare. The group hopes to hire outside experts and five to seven full-timers to help produce policy proposals.

"We’ve got to get beyond the bumper-sticker slogans," said Jindal. "We’ve got to get beyond the 30-second attack ads."

The non-profit was started, Jindal said on its website, because "conservatives have failed to articulate and sell a national policy agenda to the country, a vision of what conservative policies can accomplish when put into practice. We’ve detailed the awful things the Obama Administration has done, all the failings of the left, and we’ve pledged to undo as much of that as we can."

But while many hearing the news said they think Jindal created America Next to jumpstart his own campaign, those involved stressed that is not the case.

"I don’t know if I’m going to run for president or not," Jindal said, before citing the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's idea that people need to win the war of ideas before winning elections.

Jindal is the son of Indian immigrants and a Rhodes scholar who has enjoyed a quick rise in the political world. He was elected governor in 2007 and would be wrapping up his second term at the beginning of 2016 just as the Iowa caucuses will be held.

America Next will also take on positions that run contrary to Republican policy, said Jindal.

"Everything needs to be on the table," he said. "This is not a time to be timid . . . there will probably be people in both parties who don’t like the specifics, but that’s OK."